Toronto snags prep slugger Anderson at No. 35

KANSAS CITY -- The Blue Jays selected high school outfielder Jacob Anderson with their first pick in the compensation round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft on Monday.

Anderson is a 6-foot-4 outfielder from Chino High School in California. He weighs 190 pounds and projects to hit for above-average power.

Anderson, selected with the No. 35 overall pick, possesses above-average speed and range in the outfield for a player of his size.

He may prove to be a difficult player to sign, though. Anderson has committed to play for Pepperdine University, but he was selected higher in the Draft then most experts predicted, which could affect his decision.

The Blue Jays have until Aug. 15 to sign Anderson to a contract. If the sides are unable to come to terms then Toronto will receive the No. 35 pick in next year's Draft.

Toronto, which selected high school right-hander Tyler Beede with the No. 21 overall pick, was granted the 35th pick after left-hander Scott Downs signed with the Angels during the offseason. It was the first of four selections the Blue Jays had in the compensation round, which is between the first and second rounds of the Draft.

Live coverage of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft resumes at noon ET Tuesday on MLB.com, where fans will receive exclusive coverage of Day 2 and 3, featuring a live pick-by-pick stream, expert commentary and Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of every Draft-eligible player.

You can also keep up to date at Draft Central and by following @MLBDraft on Twitter. And get into the Draft conversation by tagging your tweets with #mlbdraft.